Baiten (=Newstand) <2>
(Expensive but Trashy. Why buy one?)
The advice I always give to my American students when they visit Japan – “You can buy ‘The Japan Times’ but don’t trust them.” I don’t want to make a political comment unless necessary. This one – I definitely have to. This is not a piece of “advice,” but “serious warning.” The Japan Times is trash. Worse than trash, actually. Let me explain.
1) Their articles are very biased. They speak like they were Japan’s representatives. No way! Do NOT be misled. What they say is NOT the opinions of the Japanese majority.
2) They have kept making mistakes about the facts. Most of the time they don’t make corrections unless someone strongly stand up for himself or the public. Newspaper shouldn’t say whatever they say is TRUTH. Writers are humans. Nobody is perfect. Right?
3) Even though they are Japanese owned newspaper published domestically ONLY, they criticize their own country by themselves. Is there any newspaper in any country in the world that is constantly criticizing its own country?
4) Not only politically but also culturally, they demean and disgrace Japanese culture and send out totally or partially wrong information to visitors to Japan! What are they doing?!
Since their readers are mainly Japanese elite class business people who comfortably read English and visitors from all over the world, they may spread out the wrong information to the rest of the world! They have never changed their snobby attitude catoring only to upper class and foreigners since their foundation in 1897. They are as atrocious as Asahi Shinbun (one of the top brand names in Japan).
I hope you will get my point and won’t take seriously about what The Japan Times say even when you accidentally read it. People who are involved in this business are NOT authentic and patriotic Japanese.
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Japan_Times
